New Review Tuesday: African-American History

Piggybacking off Anastasia's recommendations from yesterday, here are two more ideas for February's Black History Month (and for the rest of the year, too). Both of these books celebrate lesser known African-American women.

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, by Phillip Hoose, is the story of the fifteen-year-old girl girl who protested Montgomery's segregated bus seating before Rosa Parks. I first "met" Claudette in Ellen Levine's excellent Freedom's Children, and I was so pleased to see this new biography, aimed at grades 5-8. Especially since it's written by one of my favorite non-fiction authors, the man behind The Race to Save the Lord God Bird. Pair this with Freedom's Children for a fascinating look at one of the youngest heroes of the civil rights movement.

Bring Me Some Apples and I'll Make You a Pie: A Story About Edna Lewis, by Robbin Gourley, introduces children to a woman ahead of her time in more ways than one. Lewis was an accomplished chef and cookbook author who placed a real value on fresh, local food. Gourley focuses on what Lewis's childhood life might have been like growing up on a farm. Kids in grades 1–4 won't want to miss the tasty recipes at the back of the book, either.